Hex Me or Kiss Me Book One

Step To The Side

Harry led the way back, pausing to look in the main room to see if Dumbledore was there, but he wasn't. He shrugged at Draco and kept walking until he had reached the door. When he opened it, it was to see a very different room than the one he remembered leaving earlier. The bed was gone and in its place were three comfortable looking armchairs and a coffee table. Two chairs sat on one side of the table and in the other chair sat Dumbledore."Ah," he said upon seeing Harry and Draco. "Happy to see you're both finished with your showers," he said, standing.Draco took a sharp breath and froze behind Harry. He had an urge to turn and flee, but he held steady. He schooled his features to neutral and waited.Harry approached a bit warily. "Good morning, Professor," he said."Yes, quite," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Please, take a seat. We have much to discuss."Harry walked forward, suddenly feeling ashamed that he was probably taking up valuable Horcrux hunting time.Draco stood in the doorway, leaning on the frame.Harry sat in one of the empty chairs and then noticed that Draco hadn't followed him over. He frowned at him.Dumbledore looked over at Draco too. "Draco?" he asked."Poppy has told me of your exhaustion. While you may certainly stand, it might be easier for you to sit down. "Draco's arms were crossed over his chest and he sighed. He dropped his arms, pushed off from the frame and strolled into the room, looking every bit the Slytherin Prince of reputation. He sat gracefully in the open chair and leaned back. Harry gave a tiny roll of his eyes and looked back at Dumbledore,waiting for him to speak.  "Tea, boys?" Dumbledore asked, and with a wave of his wand, a tea set appeared out of thin air. "Erm, sure," Harry said, still feeling guilty.Draco nodded. "Sure," he said as well.Dumbledore poured them each a cup, leaving it up to them to add what they wanted. "You are both intelligent young wizards; I assume you do know why I'm here?" he asked when they were all settled in.Draco put sugar in both cups and then added milk to his own.He pushed the other cup toward Harry but didn't look up at him. He settled back in his seat, sipping tea, but not saying anything.Harry averted his eyes and nodded, taking a sip of tea.Dumbledore looked at Draco, pausing for a second. "I know of the bonding," he said.Harry flushed."No need to explain the details, I have already spoken to Professor Snape about it." He eyed both boys, perhaps a little more sternly than before.Harry sipped his tea to refrain from speaking just yet.Draco gave the old man his best look of cool disdain and sipped his tea. He was a Malfoy, he knew how to hide his feelings."Professor Snape has told me that the bond has allowed you,Harry, to be able to order you, Draco, to do things. Is this true?"Harry looked up at Dumbledore and nodded. "Yes," he said quietly. Dumbledore nodded as well. "I would think it very beneficial if I could see an example."Harry looked at Draco.Draco frowned, his pulse speeding up. He glanced at Harry and then away.Harry gave a tiny shrug. "Erm, Draco, clap your hands," he said,using the same example he had shown to Hermione."Bloody hell!" Draco shouted as he tried unsuccessfully to put the teacup down before he clapped his hands, dumping the tea and cup in his lap. His hands were clapping, so he couldn't even push himself out of the chair.Harry had forgotten that Draco had been holding tea, and he had said the first thing that had come to mind. He jumped in his chair at Draco's outburst and turned even redder when he saw what he had done. "Stop, stop!" he said quickly. At least Dumbledore knew it was the real thing now; Draco would not willingly have dumped hot tea in his own lap.Draco scowled, pushing himself out of the chair, causing the cup to fall to the floor. He was shaking with anger and the shock of having hot tea splashed on his legs. He was lucky he had managed to avoid it landing higher. "I am not a fucking puppet, and I don't appreciate being used like one!" he yelled, and started for the door.Harry jumped out of his chair and ran after him. "No, wait!" he yelled, forgetting that that would make Draco have to wait and,therefore, probably angrier.Draco stopped in place, 'waiting'. He turned his head, looking angrily over his shoulder. "Yes?" he said in a voice full of rage.Harry was actually a bit frightened by Draco's voice, not because he was afraid of him, but because that wasn't a voice he had heard from Draco before, only from Malfoy. "Please wait," he said,changing his wording so that Draco could move again.Draco turned his head away and looked for a moment like he would continue out the door. He dropped his head to his chest,breathing hard and trying to get himself under control.The Headmaster was frowning at the scene in front of him. "I will ask you both to please take your seats again," he said sternly."While I will not prevent you from leaving, Mr Malfoy, it is imperative that I speak to both of you. If you would be so gracious as to sit with us now, it will negate the need for me to return later when you might have other activities that need attending to."Harry didn't move. He just looked from Draco to Dumbledore.Without turning, Draco said, "May I have my wand?"Harry frowned deeper. Why would he ask that?Dumbledore nodded. "Madam Pomfrey gave it to me to give to you," he said, pulling the wand from his robes.Draco didn't turn, but held his hand up and Summoned the wand from where he stood. It flew to his hand, and then he used it to do a Cleaning and Drying Spell on his soaked silk pajamas before turning back around. He crossed his arms across his chest and frowned at Dumbledore, not looking directly at Harry. "I do not appreciate being used," he said with quiet anger and dignity. "I apologize," said Dumbledore sincerely. "I was merely trying to see what the effects of the bond are, and I'm sure that Harry did not mean for that to happen. Please, take your seats."Harry still didn't move. If Draco left, he was going to run after him. Draco took a deep breath and glanced at Harry who was halfway between himself and the chairs. He nodded briefly and then walked carefully back to the chair, using the charm again to clean the seat and another to remove the cup before sitting back down.Harry sighed shakily and followed Draco to take his seat again too. He wanted nothing more than to reach over and hold Draco's hand, but he didn't."Thank you," Dumbledore said, staring at them both again before turning to Draco. "Professor Snape has also told me that you hadn't been eating and had collapsed. He said that the bond is what kept you alive, as Harry had told you that you couldn't die. Is that correct?""Apparently," Draco said, voice cold."Very well," Dumbledore said, completely unaffected by Draco."If that is true, then you have both performed immensely powerful magic. Bonds that can keep a person alive are very, very rare. I believe that the reason it is so strong is because the bond was performed in the Room of Requirement. The room must have sensed the need."Draco nodded, having already considered that."The bond has been quite a savior, it seems," Dumbledore continued. "But it is also dangerous for you to be relying on Harry so much. Madam Pomfrey has also told me of the fit you had last night,needing Harry sexually."Harry flushed crimson and glanced at Draco again.Draco gritted his teeth, taking a deep breath before speaking."We do not remember the exact words of the binding promise. It seems to have ... aspects ... that we don't understand.""Yes, I am aware." said Dumbledore. "This is why Professor Snape and I think it would be best for the both of you if the bond were removed, although how one would go about that is not entirely clear.""Erm, Hermione knows too, sir," Harry said. "And by now, I suppose, Ron does as well."Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, I thought they might."Harry didn't know what to think about the bond being removed.Without it, he wouldn't be able to order him to live if Draco decided to stop eating again. He frowned at Dumbledore and then looked at Draco to see his reaction.Draco's eyes narrowed, grey eyes flaring with anger and his jaw clenched. "You ... have ... no ... right," he said slowly and fiercely, his hands gripping the arms of his chair.Harry was very surprised at Draco's reaction. Hadn't he just been yelling about being treated like a puppet? "Draco," he said, placing a hand over one of Draco's. Dumbledore frowned. "I must admit that your reaction, Draco, is not one that I had anticipated. You wish the bond removed, do you not?" he asked seriously, and it was as if he were testing Draco or something."You didn't ask," Draco said in that same cold, quiet voice. He trembled at Harry's touch, but didn't turn to him, not trusting himself if he did."You are correct, I did not," Dumbledore said, eyeing Draco with a strange look in his eye. "An old man's assumptions. You must both,however, realize the problems this causes. You haven't been apart for long periods of time since the bonding, so we do not know if a problem will present itself when you are. There are many things we don't know. There is also the issue of satisfying the more intimate requirements of the bond, something which, I might add, is highly against school rules."Harry squeezed Draco's hand and looked into Dumbledore's eyes. He was getting the funny feeling that the man knew something else that he wasn't mentioning.Draco's cold expression did not change. "I have noticed that school rules seem to have been flexible in the past, when the need a rose." Once again, Professor Dumbledore was not fazed. "Obviously,the need has arisen once more," he said simply."Sir, if we don't want it removed ... what then?" Harry asked.Dumbledore sighed. "Well, Harry, I'm not even sure that it can be removed in the first place," he said. "Every binding promise is different. In a bond of this nature I believe you would both have to be willing for it to be removed. However, I must stress that allowing it to remain in place may present significant danger."Harry thought he heard a bit of emphasis on that last word.Draco snorted, shaking his head.Dumbledore seemed to stare intently at Draco for a long moment. He finally looked away, seeming tired."Arrangements will have to be made, at least until we know more about the bond," he said. "I ask that neither of you take this lightly. It may seem simple, but magic that powerful is not to be fooled with.Your safety is of great importance to me."Harry could sense that the meeting was about to come to a close.He still wanted Draco to tell Professor Dumbledore about the serpent, but he couldn't make him ... well, he could, but he had no intention of doing that.It felt like there was something being carefully avoided. Draco would obviously steer away from anything to do with Voldemort, but it felt like Dumbledore was skirting it too. Harry wasn't really sure what to do.Draco was angry and confused. He wanted the old man to leave,so he sat quietly. He knew Dumbledore was not telling them everything and that inclined him to trust him even less.Harry wasn't sure what to make of all of this. He felt like the whole meeting had been pointless. So the bond was strong? So what?It was possibly dangerous; Harry had assumed that. It was breaking school rules; Harry certainly already knew that. He felt like the real purpose of the meeting hadn't been addressed."Arrangements will have to be made with your Heads of Houses.I myself am very busy at the moment." He observed the boys for a moment. "I suppose that's all there is right now," he said.Draco stood and looked at Dumbledore. "You are going to leave me with your Golden Boy?"Harry's eyes widened, and he stared up at Draco.Dumbledore stared at Draco too, his eyes gleaming. "Are you giving me a reason not to, Draco?" he asked very seriously, but it also sounded like he was almost pleading."I am his," was all Draco answered.Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, at the moment, I suppose you are," he said, standing. He looked about the room. "I'll leave you here. Harry,you should get ready for your afternoon classes; I'm sure you'll already have quite a bit of catching up to do. And Draco, you should get some rest." He walked over to the door and paused again, turning back. "I'll tell Poppy to put the window back in this room; it'll certainly brighten things up. It was removed when Katie Bell was placed here." And with that, he turned back around and left.Draco tried not to wince at the mention of Bell but looked away as if he was considering the window. He remained standing there while Dumbledore left.